Wheel alignment commonly refers to the breaking or misplacement of wheels from their regular place. It is very important to get it checked on a regular basis by yourself or from a tyre garage.
If it is not checked on time, it can lead to some serious issues. You need to keep in mind that wheel alignment can also be used for suspension alignment.
In this post, we will discuss how to check for misalignment and things to remember.
Sometimes you may have noticed that your tyres pull to the left or right suddenly during driving. It can happen while travelling on a straight road, or a flat road with little upwind. It also happens when your tyre is wearing. Whenever you feel the wheel is not at the right place, it may need some adjustment.
For this purpose, you can either take your vehicle to the nearest garage or a tyre dealer. Otherwise, it may cause accidents on the road. Therefore, it is highly advisable to adjust the wheel at the right time.
Although, you don’t need to worry much. It's just a simple process that requires a little adjustment. If you want, you can also do it by yourself.
All you need is to check for proper angles and adjustment, and you are ready to go. If it is not properly aligned, it can cause abnormal tyre wear.
There is no specific time period for checking your wheel alignment. And if you will ask your mechanic, he will probably tell you to get it done every two-three years if it is working properly and there is no sign of improper alignment.
Generally, if everything seems normal, it is recommended to check wheel alignment when new tyres are installed and every one to two years.
Now, to check for the wheel alignment, you can either get it done by a mechanic at a time interval as said above. Also, if you face the below-mentioned things you should get them checked at the same time.
All these are some reasons you can have wheel alignment. Therefore, take care when any of these things happen.
Wheel alignment is extremely necessary to avoid needless wear on tyres, steering, brakes, or suspension. When you have perfect wheel alignment, it provides you with driving stability, maximizes the tyre’s life, and also improves the overall experience in handling components such as steering and brakes.
The wheel alignment is most of the vehicles are designed in such a way that it can minimize wear and tear of components to the least possible. Therefore, maintaining it at a regular time interval helps you with safety and comfort.
In short, the benefits of having accurate wheel alignment are:
These two terms are quite confusing when it comes to a beginner or a new driver. But in reality, both of them are completely different from each other. Wheel alignment is the process of adjusting wheels to accurate angles.
While on the other hand, wheel balancing refers to the spinning of wheels without producing any kind of vibrations. As the name says, "balancing" provides balance to the vehicle while driving.
An important thing that you need to keep in mind is how would you know if you need wheel alignment or balancing, right? In short, if you need balancing, you would observe symptoms such as uneven and faster tread wear, poor fuel economy, and vibration in the steering wheel, the floorboard, or the seat that gets worse at faster speeds. And you already know symptoms for wheel alignment.
For wheel balancing, you can approach a mechanic in the following situations:
Why Do Wheels Get Misaligned? Top Reasons For Wheel Misalignment.
Misalignment can happen in situations like hitting a pothole or getting stuck in an accident. All such situations can lead to the misalignment of your vehicle’s suspension. There is no specific reason as such, it is completely uncertain.
The process of wheel alignment makes sure to provide optimum vehicle handling and to increase the tyre’s life. When you go to a tyre garage for proper alignment, it usually takes around one-two hour. In normal conditions, when only wheels are misplaced, it takes less time. On the other hand, if there are some wear and tears, or damage to some components, then it may take some time.
Wheels are aligned in three main adjustments that are mentioned below:
When viewed from the front of the vehicle, the camber is the angle of the lean of the wheel away from the vertical. In this case, if the wheels lean too far from the normal position, irregular wear can occur. It is further divided into two parts:
To avoid any kind of wear and tear, wheels are angled at proper camber angles to optimize the tyre’s behaviour.
Toe is used to identify the direction towards which the tyres are pointed, where the centerline of the vehicle acts as the relative position. In simple terms, toes are the difference between the rear and front of the wheels on the same axle.
It is the angle that recognizes the backward or forward slope of a line that passes through the upper and lower steering pivot points. However, caster alignment does not affect wear and tear, but it affects the directional control of the steering.
Wheel alignment and wheel balancing are some important things that one needs to keep in mind while driving. If not taken proper care of, they may cause serious damage to the vehicle and even lead to accidents.
Therefore, if in doubt, get your wheels checked for misalignment today.
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